1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to prosthetic devices for implantation within a bone, and more particularly to support structures that are affixed to a bone and that support prosthetic implants.
2. Description of the Related Art
The replacement of joints, such as the shoulder, hip, knee, ankle and wrist, with prosthetic implants has become widespread. One problem commonly encountered by surgeons replacing joints is the loss of strong bone stock near the joint being replaced. Defects in a bone adjacent a joint, such as the hip or knee, can occur due to wear and arthritis of the joint, congenital deformity, and following the removal of a failed prosthetic implant. Defects can be of a cavitary contained type or segmental and uncontained. Because such bone defects are quite common, various methods have been proposed for minimizing the adverse effects of such bone defects on joint replacement procedures.
It is known to use bone graft to prepare a support surface for a prosthesis, either with or without the use of cement. A bone grafting procedure is often used where there is an appreciable loss of strong bone stock, as is often the case in revision surgery where a previously implanted prosthesis is replaced with a new prosthesis. The support surface prepared with bone graft may be made up entirely of bone graft to substantially surround a prosthesis, or the support surface may be made up of bone graft and the natural bone at the implantation site (for instance, where bone graft is used to fill a relatively small void in the natural bone where the bone is otherwise intact). Bone graft typically includes crushed bone (cancellous and cortical), or a combination of these and synthetic biocompatible materials. Bone graft of this type is intended to stimulate growth of healthy bone. Examples of bone graft materials and related materials can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,972,368, 5,788,976, 5,531,791, 5,510,396, 5,356,629, 4,789,663 and 4,678,470. Bone graft may be positioned in a bone cavity by various methods such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,142,998, 6,013,080 and 5,910,172. The use of bone graft to prepare a support surface for a prosthesis does have certain disadvantages as bone graft may not be readily available in all areas and the devices used to deliver bone graft can be quite cumbersome.
In the presence of bone deficiency, stemmed components are also often used as a method to augment prosthesis fixation during complex primary or revision knee and hip arthroplasty. These stems may be cemented or uncemented; however, the most common method of fixation during revision knee arthroplasty is the use of an uncemented stem combined with cement fixation of the prosthesis in the metaphyseal region. However, due to the large variation of bone quality, interdigitation of bone cement into the metaphyseal region is often suboptimal such that cement fixation of the stem in the bone cavity is necessary. While cement fixation of the stem provides for improved prosthesis fixation, it does have disadvantages. For example, one recognized problem with the use of a cemented stem is that the transfer of stress from the implant to the bone is abnormal. Instead of a normal loading of the bone primarily at the end of the bone near the joint surface, the bone is loaded more distally where the stem of the implant is affixed to the bone. This results in the well known phenomenon called “stress shielding” in which the load (i.e., stress) bypasses or “unloads” the end of the joint surface portion of the bone.
In the presence of severe bone deficiency, the diaphyseal region of the bone is often deficient or absent and requires the use of bone graft or unique prosthetic designs to achieve adequate prosthesis fixation during complex primary or revision knee and hip arthroplasty. The use of large structural allografts to restore bone stock requires a sophisticated bone banking system and is associated with the potential transmission of viral or bacterial pathogens. Furthermore, the difficulties with sizing and bone graft preparation are cumbersome and inexact.
When the bone deficiency occurs at the end surface of a bone, prosthetic implant augmentation devices are also often used. Typically, these devices comprise an implant body and a spacer that is attached to the implant body to form a bearing surface on the implant. The implant is affixed to the bone with the bearing surface resting on the end of the bone, essentially acting as a replacement for lost bone. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,480,445, 5,387,241, 5,152,797 and 5,019,103 show examples of such devices. While these types of implant augmentation devices provide one solution to the problems associated with the implantation of a prosthesis in the end surface of a bone with inadequate bone stock, these implant augmentation devices can only be used with specific implants available from selected implant manufacturers.
In the context of hip arthroplasty, oversized acetabular components and morselized bone grafts have been used to restore bone deficiencies, but larger defects have in the past been associated with a high failure rate despite efforts at reconstruction using large solid structural allografts or custom acetabular components. These devices gain support against the residual bone of the pelvis but often lack adequate bony support for long term mechanical durability.
Therefore, there is a need for alternative prosthetic implant support structures that do not rely on the use of large amounts of bone graft or cumbersome bone graft delivery devices. There is also a need for prosthetic implant support structures that can eliminate the need to cement the distal portion of the stem of an implant to the inner surface of a bone cavity. In addition, there is a need for prosthetic implant support structures that can be used with a wide variety of prosthetic implants obtained from any number of different implant manufacturers. Furthermore, there is a need for a prosthetic implant system that optimizes implant support on intact host bone with minimal removal of residual host bone and that encourages bone ingrowth and attachment over as large a surface area as possible.